biggest problem with thanksgiving dinner?

where's the chocolate? we were discussing this at pilates last night.




nicolephoto.com

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congratulations, uncle d.

for winning Dancing with the Stars! you deserved it.

an explanation for the autograph:
a hundred years ago i was in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with D.O. when he was on tour and the show was in SLC. I was a "child" and "vulture" (whoa, dream big!). D.O. has been a family friend as long as i can remember and i wanted him to know who my dad was (so he would know who i was). dad's name is rich. one day, i said, "you know my dad, he is rich." he looked at me surprised and said, "that's great!" my little 12 yr old soul was mortified that he had misinterpreted what i'd said.
you know my dad, Rich, not, my dad IS rich. anyway, this is what he wrote when we visited him in vegas this year:

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the bicycle

whahahaha ha.. look. this baby is doing the pilates bicycle! i found it today as an outtake from one of my shoots. which reminds me that we have two more weeks of pilates class before i go on another break. (i'm teaching to get more hrs for certification) if you'd like to join us, email me for details -it's free and it's tonight!!

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shabby apple giveaway winner!

have you read all the comments from this post? so touching and sweet --thank you for commenting...i loved reading what you are all thankful for.



is our shabby apple winner! coincidentally, i've known the last two winners... which is fun, but i swear i'm using random.org... see?

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beware of trends.

i don't usually talk about tips and tricks on this blog, but i do love sharing my photos with you. as i'm writing my textbook, there were a few "touchy" subjects that i don't think i'm going to include in the book and one is TREND.

it's important to me to have a photograph that is timeless. a photo that in 10 years from now, i can still have in my book because trend doesn't date it. because of that, here are some things i avoid:

- locations that don't make sense (babies on train tracks, brides in broken-down trucks)
- backgrounds with trendy patterns.
- tutus, leg warmers and brain squeezers. (unless you are shooting toddler dressing up.)
- certain props: do chairs belong in fields? not really. have we seen the balloon enough? yes, though i'm totally guilty of that one.
- photoshop actions. if you like a specific style, learn to do it yourself and keep it consistent -but buying someone else's actions doesn't make you a better photographer, it just gives you "their" style, not yours.
- trendy clothing.
- vignettes created through post-editing programs.
- watermarks. do you see annie leibovitz watermarking her images? i don't think so.
- shooting anything that is someone else's style.


in the end, be true to yourself. if you love all the things listed above, then forget this post... but the number two thing i'm asked about is how to style and in word, i would say...

... timeless.


nicolephoto.com from this shoot

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students: where they are now.

ha. did you get that title from silly celebrity mags? anyway, yesterday i emailed a follow up to my october students to see how their manual shooting is going and look what jennifer has been doing? (she took photo 101 crash course and art weekend tabletop photography) awesome work. i'm really so proud of her. she also wrote about our class here. (i'll be announcing classes and art weekends for 2010 very very soon -click here to leave your email.)



jennifer took this picture of me photographing s5 for our demo. don't i look ridiculously focused?

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la ditta design winner!

Congratulations to Erin!



Sad you didn't win? don't be! email the promo code "sussy" to ladittadesign@hotmail.com to get a custom header 25% off! Thanks, Aarean!

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a new favorite.


nicolephoto.com from this garden shoot.

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melissa esplin

have you ever stopped over at IS*LY? sweet melissa taught our bookbinding course at The Art Weekend -SLC. she's totally fabulous -and look at her amazing handwriting... it's stunning and for her, effortless. i have my own little card written by her and i'll never throw it away. it's just too beautiful.


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ariel gordon jewelry

have you seen ariel gordon's jewelry? i love it... so much so that I'm shooting her entire collection next week -and i'm looking for help! anyone interested in helping with styling and/assisting for this shoot? email me (ps.. i live in SF --so locals only. ;)



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shabby apple giveaway!

i've been a shabby apple fan since their launch party (s1 was the mc) -so i am excited about this giveaway! leave a "thanksgiving" what-you're-thankful-for comment by sunday at midnight for a chance to win one of these three dresses (your choice): anchors away, 90 wpm, and duck beach. ps.. have you seen these two new dresses? amazing.

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happy wednesday


nicolephoto.com from this garden shoot.

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secrets * thoughts * teasing




nicolephoto.com from alice lane home collection shoot.

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the difference of one half second.



nicolephoto.com from this shoot.

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dream on, sister

isn't this home dreamy? if i had a colonial-style house, this is how Christmas will throw up on it. but until then, i'll have a festive wreath on my apt door. sigh.


scanned from my pb catalog

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welcoming sponsor: la ditta design

big hearty welcome to La Ditta Design -a talented design studio specializing in blog headers, invitations, business cards and blog design!

Wanna snazz up your blog header? Leave a comment here by Friday night for a chance to win a custom blog header from Aarean.


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rock on.. faire houre

A former student just emailed to show off her new mad photo skills. Seriously. Her photography is making her products look rockin.' click here to buy. (she also has amazing styling skills.) ps... we are announcing next year's lineup of live classes, online classes, art weekends and crash courses very very soon. Stay tuned.. otherwise, submit your email here to be on our mailing list so you'll be first to know.



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Olive's Friend Pop

Oh wow.. i think i've died and gone to baby clothes heaven. Look at the beautiful vintage-inspired clothing from Olive's Friend Pop.


image from and found by eat, drink, chic. -one of my favorite blogs.

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housing needed

my 2 sweet sisters are having a tough time trying to find an apt in provo --i know you utah readers have great connections, so i figured i'd try for them. here's what's needed: 3 apt contracts for jan. preferably at university ave apts or lanai apts. thanks, friends. sorry for posting classifieds on my blog. :)

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portuguese water dog puppy party

remember the litter of porty puppies my mom's dog had this year? well we had them all over for a little visit to see how they've grown. the puppies remembered each other and were such cute playmates. all the families are in love with their puppies and it is so exciting to see others as excited about them as we are. this party was a little more casual than molly's party.

all the new puppy owners

below from l-r: spike, maximus, shadow, mon amie, crew




a mackerel cake to celebrate the occasion. we are crazy people. just crazy.


and poor maggie next door wasn't invited. so amie gave her a hug.

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